Trojans fall in homecoming heartbreaker

In order to beat Oskaloosa?s single-wing offense, Fairfield head coach Mike Schenck knew his defense would need to force turnovers, penetrate the offensive line and eliminate the big play.

The Trojans were able to do two out of three well, recovering two fumbles and tallying several tackles for losses, but it was Oskaloosa running back Adam Rowley and the big play that broke the Trojans? backs Friday at Trojan Stadium.

Rowley broke away for several long rushes, including touchdown runs of 34 and 38 yards, and the senior back turned in a 217-yard, three touchdown performance to lead the Indians past Fairfield 28-20.

The night began slow for the Trojans, and on the opening drive the offense went three-and-out and punted for the first time in three games. A deflating punt block followed by an Andrew Landgrebe return for a touchdown put the Indians on top 7-0.

?In the first half we just shot ourselves in the foot,? said Schenck. ?It was a missed block [resulting in the punt block], we dropped some balls, we overthrew some passes, had some penalties. It just seemed like we could find no consistency offensively.?

The offensive struggle would last the entire first half for the Trojans, but moving the ball wasn?t initially any easier for the Indians. A bend-but-don?t-break Trojans? defense flexed its muscle the one time Oskaloosa reached the red zone in the first 24 minutes, and Oskaloosa turned the ball over on downs at the Fairfield 7.

Along the line, Metcalf led the Trojans with 10 tackles and Cooksey and Mineart both had sacks to hold Oskaloosa?s second leading rusher, Tyler Hafner, to minus-nine yards on nine carries.

The two offenses, which entered the contest averaging more than 34 points per game, went into halftime with zero points to show from it.

?At halftime we made a couple adjustments, but I think the kids kind of refocused,? said Schenck. ?We talked about pride and confidence at halftime and they were a much more confident crew in the second half.?

The newfound confidence was apparent from the opening kickoff, when the Trojans recovered a fumble to give the offense a short field. Zach Vivier, who carried the ball 15 times for 75 yards, tied the game at 7-all with an 8-yard touchdown run to kick off an explosive quarter.

From there, the teams battled back and forth to score on four consecutive drives. Rowley scored on a 34-yard run, Vivier tied it back up at 14-all, but again Rowley responded with a 38-yard touchdown to put Oskaloosa ahead with one quarter to go.

?We had a tough time stopping Rowley in the second half,? Schenck said. ?He got stronger as the football game went on. We basically assumed what play they were going to run because it was the one play they were having a lot of success with, and we still couldn?t stop it.?

Quarterback Dillon Fry found Corbin Harwood on a 41-yard touchdown pass with four minutes remaining, but a bad snap on the tying point-after attempt kept the Trojans within one of Oskaloosa. Rowley would cross the goal line with 2:24 remaining to put the Indians up 28-20.

On what would be Fairfield?s final drive of the game, Fry was able to move the ball to the Oskaloosa 29 before throwing an interception with less than a minute remaining.

Fry finished the game 17-of-40 for 187 yards passing and also gained 109 yards on the ground. Fairfield?s Spencer Peterman led all receivers with seven catches for 67 yards, and Davis Lowenberg caught four passes for 30 yards.

?Losses, to a certain extent, are not a bad thing if you learn from your loss,? said Schenck. ?I think we have the type of team and kids that this will be a learning experience for them and they will come back stronger.?

Fairfield (4-2, 3-1 District 7) will look to bounce back against a struggling Centerville squad next Friday in Centerville.

Oskaloosa 28, Fairfield 20

Scoring Summary

1st ? 10:56 (O) Landgrebe 1-blocked punt return (PAT)

3rd ? 10:33 (FF) Vivier 8-run (PAT), 6:44 (O) Rowley 34-run (PAT), 5:25 (FF) Vivier 6-run (PAT), 5:05 (O) Rowley 38-run (PAT)

4th ? 4:00 (FF) Fry 41-pass to Harwood (pass failed), 2:24 (O) Rowley 6-run (PAT)

Individual Statistics

Rushing ? (FF) Vivier 15-75 (2 TD), Fry 17-109, Harwood 1-7, Metcalf 2-0; (O) Rowley 28-217 (3 TD), Richmond 8-62, Holub 2-13, Hafner 9--9

Passing ? (FF) Fry 17-40-187 (TD); (O) Hafner 2-5-40

Receiving ? (FF) Harwood 1-42 (TD), Peterman 7-67, Lowenberg 4-30, Vivier 3-25, Buch 2-23; (O) Gist 1-5, Richmond 1-25

Tackles ? (FF) Metcalf 10, Vivier 5, Dimmitt 5, Davisson 5, Harwood 4, Cooksey 2 (sack), Mineart 2 (sack), Sloan 2, Peterman 1, Gevock 1, Lowenberg 1, Stoner 1; (O) Shaull 15, Richmond 11, Sarver 9, Daniel 7, Gibson 6, Jones 5 (sack), Holub 5, Landgrebe 5, Strasser 5, Beason 3, Hance (sack), Cook 1

Interceptions ? (O) Richmond 1, Sarver 1